September 22, 2007
Fantastic Fest - Day 2
Fri, Sep 21
Sword Bearer, The (110 min.) - Beautiful European cinematography behind two very attractive Russian stars is unfortunately paced like a Korean food/romance film. The action in this film is rare, brief and abstracted. Don’t be confused by the marketing. This is Russia’s version of a Merchant Ivory romance that happens to use fantasy as one element of the story. You should only watch this movie if you enjoy handsome naked Russian men being all “swoony”.
Backwoods, The (98 min.) - The entire cast (including Gary Oldman, Paddy Considine and Virginie Ledoyen) delivers powerful performances in a film that is possibly a metaphor for how we destroy our own relationships, or maybe how extreme situations can discover the deep differences that will tear people apart. …I don’t know but like any good film there is more than the surface story. One of my predictions for the future of powerful cinema in America is that it will be bilingual. The Europeans have beat us to the punch on this one.
Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures (70 min.) - Jean Giraud is one of the primary artistic influences on science fiction films, and his story with his friends and collaborators is the story of the rise of artistic vision in that genre. Any fan of The Fifth Element, Tron, and/or Alien needs to see this film to understand where the beauty in science fiction art originated.
Spiral (90 min.) - Leveraging the powerful script and nuanced performances of Joel David Moore, Adam Green collaborated with Moore to deliver a knock-out film that will draw you in and shake you hard. Zachary Levi and Amber Tamblyn provide such a strong supporting cast that it is hard to imagine anyone else in their roles. Visually compelling with a driving score — and I don’t even like jazz! — this is a disturbing film that everyone must see.
Wrong Turn 2 (90 min.) - I should have known better when they were passing out posters that clearly stated this was going “straight to video”. It is a fun but predictable rehash of the hillbilly slasher theme with overdone special effects. It might be worth a laugh or two…but not much more.
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